trekkies vs techies
i would consider myself a techie, or basically someone who knows and wants to knows way too much about computers, computing, and all things electronic. for some reason there is a fascination deep inside me with how things work, how to take them apart and piece them pack together, sometimes for very different purposes in which they were intended. a quick example, i was hanging out with someone, particularly someone i was, for lack of better word, trying to impress. and for some reason, i started talking about new google product: google wave. now, most normal people, when trying to impress someone, don’t usually jump right to computers! but the teckie inside of me just couldn’t stay hidden!
but, i would also consider myself a trekkie. i was raised on captain kirk and captain picard, and whenever they happen to be on TV, chances are, I’m watching it. now, i have never been to a convention, but chances are i will end up at one in the future.
most people lump these two “personalities” into one group: “nerd”, which i will gladly claim. but as i thought more about it, they’re actually two very opposite mindsets. to be techie, you focus on the reality of things, and you don’t have your head all up in the clouds. instead your focused on the task at hand, you know what needs to be done, and you get it done!
to be a trekkie though, it’s more a fantasy, dreamworld situation. even though i thoroughly believe we will have transporters in my lifetime, i have accepted the reality that i will not be piloting a starship anytime soon. but to be more than entertained, but to buy into the star trek world, you have to remove yourself, ever so slightly (for some, not so slightly) out of our own reality and into the one created by gene roddenberry.
as my mind was processing these things, i started to make a connection to my own life, then to my walk with Jesus. there is a part of following God that is very practical: feeding the hungry, clothing the homeless, taking care of the widows, the orphans, the oppressed. but there is a “larger than life” attitude that accompanies Jesus and everything he is about. love your enemies? pray for the sick? miracles? these are all things beyond the comprehension of our mind, but very real for Jesus.
the merging of these two crazy ideas make up the kingdom of God. that’s what it is! not being conservative in our lives because we are conservative at the poles, but instead being liberal in our lives! Jesus was liberal in his giving of time and resources. living the “Christian” life is about serving, it’s about following Jesus and everything he taught, and the reality of that in our lives!
for me, to continue to live as a Christ follower, my human side needs constant proof that Jesus existed, or that he is God, or that God is even real. but my soul cries out for something bigger than this world, something bigger than what this world has to offer. and that’s where the “techie” and “trekkie” of my soul converge as the kingdom of God.
being a Christ follower cannot just be about serving, neither can it be just about praying or worshiping. our faith needs the good works, and our good works need the faith.
the book of James has something to say about this convergence:
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. [James 2:14-17]
let the two collide in your life.
the seemingly impossible and the very practical, that you and i CAN do.
let them collide.
let the kingdom of God be ever present in your life in the very real way Jesus did.
may the reality of God, and the dreams, visions, and hopes you may have collide in a wreckless fashion to cause an outflow of pure, unadulterated love for our savior and the ones he loves…
…the rest of us.
-A